Kayna’s Reviews > The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World > Status Update

"I learn about [...] money-free work exchanges, ..."

I always say that I discourage free labour--unpaid internships or working for food/shelter--now, this thinking is challenged. I don't feel offended bcs I know it's a response to my frustrations on modern slavery, all for "experience" or "exposure". I ask: To what extent is this reciprocal gifting and not exploitation? Is it intention? If so, how do you measure it?

Right off the bat, the way Kimmerer talks about "deserving" reminds me of Jesse Ball's take in Notes on My Dunce Cap, where Ball doesn't subscribe to the idea of deserving recognition or celebrating an "original idea". There's an overlapping idea of ownership over things that are not ours to begin with: ideas came from people before us and an abundance of resources is nature's gift instead of something we worked for.